There are a lot of investment options available for us today. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gold, silver, annuities, etc canallbe a part of a solid retirement plan.

Some people may claim that I am biased, and maybe that is so. However, I firmly believe that rental homes are an I.D.E.A.L.investment and should be included in every retirement plan. Overthe next several post I will discuss why this is so and give you someideas to help you with your real estate investment planning.

Keep in mind that there are no promised returns. I think theexamples that I give are realistic but please consult with your owninvestment and tax advisers.*****

Aswe go through this series Iwill be using an example of a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with apurchase cost of $100,000. There are two reasons for this. 1. It makes the math simple. 2. That is a home thatwouldbe very readily and realistically purchased in this area and market. In other areas the math be be different but the same logicwillapply.

If you have a mortgage on the home it will pay off over time. Inour 15 year example you own the home free and clear in 15 years! The best part is related to number 1, income. Somebodyelse, namely the tenants, paid the mortgage for you! If youpaidcash for the house you can just reinvest the rental income in tosavings equity. Either way, you end up with a valuable asset that isstill producing income.

This would be an appropriate time to mention that our real estateinvestments need to be regarded as verylong term investments. My own opinion is that 15 years should be aminimum term that you look for length of ownership. Thatwould beespecially true if you are financing the property. Less so ifyouare paying cash but ultimately you want to end up with a debt freerental house that provides a nice monthly income.If you missed it Here are the previous installments: